Reduction of electron deficient guanine radical species in plasmid DNA by tyrosine derivatives.

Guanine bases are the most easily oxidized sites in DNA and therefore electron deficient guanine radical species are major intermediates in the direct effect of ionizing radiation (ionization of the DNA itself) on DNA as a consequence of hole migration to guanine. As a model for this process we have used gamma-irradiation in the presence of thiocyanate ions to generate single electron oxidized guanine radicals in a plasmid target in aqueous solution. The stable species formed from these radicals can be detected and quantified by the formation of strand breaks in the plasmid after a post-irradiation incubation using a suitable enzyme. If a tyrosine derivative is also present during irradiation, the production of guanine oxidation products is decreased by electron transfer from tyrosine to the intermediate guanyl radical species. By using cationic tyrosine containing ligands we are able to observe this process when the tyrosine is electrostatically bound to the plasmid. The driving force dependence of this reaction was determined by comparing the reactivity of tyrosine with its 3-nitro analog. The results imply that the electron transfer reaction is coupled to a proton transfer. The experimental conditions used in this model system provide a reasonable approximation to those involved in the radioprotection of DNA by tightly bound proteins in chromatin.